grow | rocket

By MEREDITH KIRTON

For many people the dream of having salad greens ready to pick is an everyday reality, and one of the easiest of all to grow is rocket, known botanically as Eruca sativa but also known commonly as Arugula and Italian Cress, as it is naturally from the Mediterranean.

This fast growing, nutty flavoured leaf has a little peppery overtone, making it a delicious addition to your salad.  To grow rocket, you can either so seeds direct into place or buy ready sprouted seedlings, but be careful not to over cover them; 2mm of earth is enough. Seed successive batches every 2 weeks so you have continual supply and feed regularly liquid fertiliser so they grow vigorously and are not bitter. They need at least 4 hours sun to develop full flavour, and will tolerate full sun.  In the heat of summer they are prone to bolting, or going to seed quickly themselves, but they readily self seed, ensuring that new rocket plants will quickly fill up any holes. If you don’t want this to happen, cut them back hard and they will reshoot with a fresh batch of edible leaves.

There is also another similar tasting plant called wild rocket, or Duplotaxis tenufolia, which has more deeply indented leaves and a more complex flavour.  Growing conditions and treatments are the same.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | peaches

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Peaches (Prunus persica) are one of the quintessential summer fruits, with the season running from late October right through to April, and a real glut coming onto the market around December/January, the perfect time for al fresco eating and light desserts. What many people don’t realise is just how easy peaches are to grow, or how beautiful they can be…

Peaches can be grown in many areas of Australia, as the variety available range from tropical selections that cope with the heat right through to cooler temperate varieties. They also can be bought in dwarf varieties, suitable for small gardens and pots, or espaliered to be able to grown along walls and in narrow spaces, or kept as a beautiful small tree. Another idea is to plant more than one type in the same whole, known as duo and trio planting, or grow multi grafted plants to allow for a few different types, and even other stone fruit, on the one plant. Known as fruit salad trees with these multigrafts it is possible nowadays to have the one tree bear a white fleshed peach, yellow fleshed peach and even a plum, all on the same bush!

Dwarf peaches are also available. Sold as Trxzie® grow about 1.5m x 1.5m. Their fruit is full sized, despite their diminutive statue! Over the last few decades there has been a lot of breeding going on in the peach world. Check out the newest cultivars from Flemings Nureseries (www.flemings.com.au ‘Daisy’, ‘Tasty Zee’ and Double Jewel.)

Peaches also have the added bonus of being self fertile, which means that they don’t need another variety to still be able to cross pollinate and set fruit, which can be a problem in the back yard situation for some other fruit tree.  The biggest problem you will face is likely to be the birds, who, just like you, love the juicy sweet flesh but will also eat them greener, ruining the crop.  Nets are essential for keeping them out of reach.  Peaches also get fruit fly in some areas of Australia, so you will need to be vigilant for this as the fruit ripens.

Peaches are normally planted in winter they can be purchased bare rooted and the range is widest and cheapest.  They can be bought year round though if potted, and many of the multigrafts and dwarf types will be available now.  They like a full sun position and are quite hardy, but don’t like being water logged so you will need to ensure that the soil drains will.  Dig a hole, fill it empty with water and check that it drains away completely in 10 minutes.  If it’s acting like a bucket, build
up your planting level to above the ground in either a mound or raised bed, to ensure drainage is adequate.

Peaches will take about 3 years before they bear reliably, and need particular training to keep the bearing.  To do this, each winter remove any branches that grow inwards, and shorten the remaining branches, all the time creating an open vase like shape, just like you do with rose bushes but on a much bigger scale.  Also watch that you remove suckers, or the shoots that appear below the bud union, as they appear as these can overbear your plant and have no guarantee of being a tasty fruit…they are just chosen for their disease resistance and vigour as an understock. Each winter, check your plant for scale insects and spray with a suitable copper spray at bud swell to stop the disease peach leaf curl attacking your plants.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | carrots

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Carrots (Daucus carota) may seem to be the most ordinary of vegetables; the stock standard for meat and three veg, but, what most people don’t realize is just how wrong that assumption is.  In fact, carrots come in many shapes and sizes, from round, radish-like shapes to white, purple, yellow and red colours.  They were, in fact, selectively bred to be orange, by the Dutch, in honour of their Royal family, whose colours are such. If one digs a little deeper, and looks at the heirloom or old fashioned types, you can still get seed stock of these fascinating relics
from yesteryear.

Carrots can basically be sown all year round, and the trick is to sow them directly into the ground or in pots where they will be grown, as they don’t transplant at all well.  The seed is only fine, so you can mix it with dry sand if you wish to make spacing the seeds a little easier. Cover them very finely with about 1cm more of sand or fine soil, form them down and keep them moist whilst they germinate.  As you pick, harvest them evenly along the row to allow the remaining carrots to fatten.  It takes carrots about 12 weeks from sowing to be ready.  Staggering your planting, waiting a month between rows will allow for more even production.

Another trick with carrots is to make sure that your soil is well prepared, as rocks and clods will force you carrots to stop their taper and fork.  Another problem can be over fertilising, as too rich a soil can have the same effect.  Generally carrots grown where a high yielding crop like tomatoes have been will be ideal, as these will have stripped some of the excess elements out already and make it perfect for a carrots.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | asparagus

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Asparagus is a fern-like plant to about 2m tall that grows easily in well drained, sheltered positions and is actually quite a handsome perennial to include in your garden.  Growing asparagus is an investment, as the plants themselves take a few years to be of bearing age. Like all investments, proper preparation will ensure that you have good returns.  This means careful clearing of all weeds, loads of manure dug through prior to planting, and regular watering so that the emerging shoots don’t dry out.

Planting is usually done from root rhizomes, bought in late autumn and winter, then planted out, but you can also buy seedlings which are ready for planting in spring, but do take another season to be old enough to crop.  Once “of age”, you will be able to crop tender young shoots as they emerge from their winter sleep for many weeks, but remember to leave some to unfurl, as the plant still needs foliage to grow into a descent sized bush.

There are purple sprouted forms (called Mary Washington) and the white shoots are a result of blanching the new growth by excluding the sunlight, by means of piling on straw mulches or similar, to extend the shoots and block the development of chlorophyll.  This makes a sweeter delicacy.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | parsley

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Parsley actually has quite a few forms, from common curled parsley that most people recognize as the garnish from butchers windows of prawn cocktails in the ‘70s right through to the lesser known types like French Parsley, which is also known as Chervil.  All are actually related to the carrot and parsnip, which is no surprise to those of you who know of Hamburg parsley, the cultivar that develops a carrot like white root with a delicate parsley flavour.  All parsleys can actually have both the seed, root, stalk and leaf eaten, so long as they are washed properly.

In vogue today is Continental or Flat leafed parsley, which is also known as Italian parsley.  It features in recipes like tabouleh and has a stronger flavour and leaf less prone to wilting. Coriander, or Chinese parsley, is also very popular, probably because of the increase in Asian food, and it lends an almost citrus-like freshness to foods.

The trick with growing all types is to sow seed directly into position.  None of this family really likes transplanting, and the stress of doing so can trigger plants to prematurely “bolt” or go to seed. To encourage healthy, vigorous growth, plant in full sun in well drained soil, and feed every 3 weeks with a liquid feed like seaweed solution or fish emulsion.

Actually, one of the easiest ways to always have a supply of parsley is actually to let plants mature a seed naturally, that way they will pop up when the climatic situation is perfect.  Also, the flowering heads of this whole family are great at attracting beneficial insects to the garden, which in turn will help keep your plant attacking insects in check.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | strawberries

By MEREDITH KIRTON

September is the month of strawberries in Australia, ripening first in Queensland and then the season works its way down the coast towards Victoria, each week signaling another flush somewhere of yet another plump, juicy fruit.

Growing to about 0.5m in width and only 20cm or so high, the strawberry is ideal as a groundcover, or as a strawberry patch, but can also be grown in pots, baskets and window boxes.  In fact, this berry is ideal for the backyard, so long as you can protect the ripening fruit from birds and even the pet dog, who all love the taste of the fruits.  Try nets and empty glass jars to prevent them from getting to your crops.

To grow your own, it’s important to protect these fruit not only from hungry mouths, but also from the ground where they can get fungal problems easily.  That’s where the name “straw”berry actually comes from, as originally straw was placed around each bush to protect the fruit from landing on the damp ground.  Commercial growers often use plastic, but growing your fruit in baskets and pots also has the same effect.

Strawberries need full sun to flower, and there are both white and pink flowering types.  There is also a yellow fruited Alpine or non-spreading strawberry, which is said to be harder for birds to see.  It is, however, just as tasty!  Dig in lots of manure prior to planting rhizomes or seedlings, and feed regularly with liquid manure or liquid blood and bone to encourage recropping.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS

grow | peas

By MEREDITH KIRTON

Peas (Pisum sativum) are perhaps the most commonly eaten green vegetable, but mostly from the frozen food section of your supermarket.  The shame of this is not only how delicious fresh peas are, but also because growing peas is one of the kindest things you can do for your garden’s soil.  And that doesn’t even touch on the socially enriching time that shelling peas together around the kitchen table can be!

Peas seem to celebrate spring.  They are fast growing, very pretty with either white or purple flowers, nutritious and can be eaten fresh or cooked in a wide range of cuisines from salads to stir fries or with the Sunday roast.  Even the new growth is edible and peas can even be sown on a windowsill for pea sprouts fresh year round.

Peas are normally sown in autumn or winter, but can be sown into early spring in cold areas like Tasmania and even into summer in areas where it doesn’t get too hot.  You plant they seeds directly where they grow every 5cm or so and then gently firm them down into the soil.  Dwarf peas don’t need any support so are ideal for pots and hanging baskets, but taller growing peas will generally need 1.5m tall stakes to help support them, and if possible run this north to south so they get the most sun possible.

Peas take about 8-10 weeks to start cropping, and the more you pick the more you get, so pick regularly.  At the end of your pea season, dig your pea stalks back into the ground and you’ll enrich your soil with not only organic matter, but also nitrogen, as peas have a magical way of using special nodules on their roots to take nitrogen from the air and turn it into a plant useable form.

Photography by SUE STUBBS | Blog designed by RED PEPPER GRAPHICS